LOS ANGELES, CA – A federal immigration agent pointed a handgun at a bystander’s face during an arrest Friday morning in North Hollywood, according to initial reports, and Mayor Karen Bass said she is asking the California Attorney General’s Office to investigate.
The arrest took place Friday, Oct. 30, near the intersection of Vineland Place and Otsego Street, outside an apartment complex. Masked federal agents detained a man whom his family identified as Angel Luis Gonzalez Lobo, 27, a Venezuelan national.
The Department of Homeland Security confirmed the arrest in a statement issued Oct. 31. A neighbor who was walking his dogs became involved in the encounter, and the confrontation drew condemnation from city, state and congressional officials.
Gonzalez Lobo’s brother said he does not know why the man was arrested.
Arrest near Vineland Place and Otsego Street
The scene was a residential block of apartment buildings in the San Fernando Valley neighborhood of North Hollywood. The agents who made the arrest wore masks, and their vests were marked “ICE Police,” according to initial reports.
The agents took Gonzalez Lobo into custody on the sidewalk and moved him toward an unmarked SUV.
The Los Angeles Police Department had issued no release about the incident as of Oct. 31.
Bystander pushed into bushes
A neighbor who was walking two dogs approached the scene and questioned the agents. He picked up a pepper-spray canister that an agent had dropped on the ground.
Two agents rushed the man, and one of them shoved him into bushes. The agent drew a handgun and held it inches from the man’s face.
The bystander dropped the canister toward the street, and the agent backed away. According to initial reports, the man later ran after another agent approached him holding what witnesses described as pepper spray.
The available information does not say whether the bystander was hurt, and he has not been publicly identified.
DHS describes targeted operation
DHS said agents arrested Gonzalez Lobo in a targeted operation. The department said he had a final order of removal from an immigration judge after he missed his court date.
DHS said he will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings and will receive due process.
The department described the bystander as having pepper spray. It said that created “a moment of chaos” and an “unnecessarily dangerous” environment for federal law enforcement.
Bass seeks state investigation
Bass called the incident unacceptable and said it would “not be tolerated” in Los Angeles. She said every Angeleno deserves to feel safe in their own community.
“I’m engaging the Attorney General’s Office to investigate and prosecute any wrongdoing by these federal agents,” the mayor said.
Bass also referred the matter to the office of Rep. Robert Garcia. She said “ICE operations have not stopped and neither have we,” and that her office is working with immigrant rights leaders on further action.
She added: “We beat Trump and ICE in court, and new state laws have implemented accountability measures for ICE agents to protect our communities.”
Newsom’s office condemns conduct
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office called the incident “absolutely disgusting.” It said: “This kind of violence has no place in our communities. Trump’s secret police are completely out of control. There must be oversight, investigations, and accountability for this pattern of behavior.”
The governor’s press office also pointed people to the Attorney General’s website to report misconduct by federal agents. In a separate release dated Oct. 31 about legal services and protections, the governor’s office said Californians who witness potentially unlawful conduct by federal agents “can submit information, photographs, and video through the California Department of Justice’s reporting portal.” That release does not mention the North Hollywood incident.
Rivas and Raman criticize operation
Rep. Luz Rivas, a Democrat whose district includes parts of the San Fernando Valley, condemned the incident. She said ICE is violating “the fundamental rights and safety of individuals across the San Fernando Valley to carry out Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant agenda.”
Rivas said families are being torn apart and residents are being terrorized on their own streets by masked agents. She said ICE “needs to get out of L.A.” and “must be abolished for good.”
Los Angeles City Councilmember Nithya Raman also criticized the operation. “I am outraged by reports of violent ICE kidnappings in North Hollywood,” she said, adding that “LA is not a playground for the Trump regime’s inhumane operations.”
Raman said Angelenos should not have to live in fear of going to work, taking their kids to school or living their lives.
California law on agent identification
California has sought to require law enforcement officers, including federal agents, to identify themselves. On Feb. 9, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ruled in part and denied in part the Trump administration’s request to block the state’s SB 805 and SB 627.
The California Department of Justice said the ruling denied the administration’s attempt to block California “from requiring law enforcement officers, including federal agents, to visually identify themselves by agency and either by name or badge number.”
State portal accepts reports of misconduct
The California Attorney General’s office runs an online form where the public can report potentially unlawful activity in California by federal agents or personnel, such as ICE, CBP or the federalized National Guard.
The form accepts up to five photos and five videos. Contact information is optional, and submissions can be anonymous.
Gonzalez Lobo remains in ICE custody
DHS said Gonzalez Lobo remains in ICE custody while his removal proceedings continue. The Attorney General’s Office had not announced an investigation of the North Hollywood incident as of Oct. 31, and neither DHS nor ICE had released any further account of the encounter with the bystander.
